The longtime butler of Jeffrey Epstein is speaking out about the death of the deceased pedophile and disgraced financier, joining the chorus of voices expressing disbelief that he committed suicide.
Valdson Vieira Cotrin, who oversaw Epstein’s residence in Paris for 18 years, made the admission in an interview with The Telegraph.
“I am like his brother [Mark Epstein]. I don’t believe this was suicide. He loved life too much,” Cotrin told the British newspaper.
JUST IN – The Telegraph has posted a photo of Jeffrey Epstein on his private jet in 2019.
This photo, may be one of the last taken of the financier, shows him wearing an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sweatshirt, The Telegraph reports pic.twitter.com/hpJyxdHUoD
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 8, 2025
Cotrin described his final encounter with Epstein, painting a picture of a man who appeared far from suicidal. Epstein was relaxed and discussing future plans, including additional investments in his islands, having discreetly purchased a second property that Cotrin had visited, and spending more time in Paris.
“I drove him to Le Bourget airport. It was a Saturday, because on Monday he was supposed to appear before the judge regarding all these accusations,” the longtime servant said.
The gravity of the situation became clear shortly after Epstein’s departure, according to Cotrin. “When I got home, two young women rang, his main girlfriend who had been with him officially for several years, Karyna [Shuliak] and another who worked for him. And then they told me, ‘Mr Epstein has gone to prison. He arrived in New York. The police were waiting for him‘.”
Cotrin also claimed that he worked dozens of times at Epstein’s properties in New York, Palm Beach, Florida and on Little St James, Epstein’s private Caribbean island, dubbed by the media as “pedophile island,” where he is said to have trapped and raped often underage victims.
“He trusted me completely,” said Cotrin, who has not worked since his boss’s death six years ago, adding that he never saw Epstein commit any sex crimes.
“I was his chauffeur, his cook, his housekeeper. I did everything in Paris, I was his only full-time, paid-up employee and worked for him from 2001 until his death. If someone could have seen something, it’s Valdson, there’s no one else,” he said.
Epstein was found unresponsive in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City on August 10, 2019, at 6:30 a.m., hanging from his bed. The shadowy investor was pronounced dead at New York Downtown Hospital at 6:39 a.m. The Department of Justice and the New York City medical examiner ruled his death a suicide by hanging.
However, Mark Epstein, the brother of Jeffrey Epstein, has consistently rejected the government’s conclusion and repeatedly stated that he does not believe his brother took his own life.
“I believe he was killed because I believe that, a day after he died, and I heard on CNN that he was found dead from assumed suicide,” Mark Epstein said. “They came out of the autopsy and they both concurred that this looked more like a homicide than a suicide.”
The autopsy findings have become a key source of dispute. Epstein’s autopsy was performed by New York City’s Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Barbara Sampson and a pathologist hired by the Epstein family, Dr. Michael Baden.
JUST IN – New photo surfaces of Bill Clinton with Epstein’s butler aboard Epstein’s private jet – The Telegraph pic.twitter.com/LboTnrFkSL
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) August 8, 2025
Mark Epstein has pointed to specific forensic evidence that he believes contradicts the suicide ruling.
“One of the major things was the three broken bones in his neck. Now, Dr. Baden has done about 500 autopsies. He’s been doing this for over 50 years. And I’ve spoken to other pathologists and they say, you know, on a soft hanging. Which is supposedly what Jeffrey was supposed to have done. You know, you might get a broken bone, maybe two, but no one’s ever seen three broken bones in this kind of hanging,” Mark Epstein said.
Earlier July, the joint DOJ-FBI memo declared an “exhaustive review” of evidence from Epstein’s death definitively ruled out murder.
The agencies also denied the existence of a “client list” tied to Epstein, directly contradicting earlier remarks by Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bondi had previously suggested on Fox News that such a list was “sitting on my desk” for review, igniting speculation about Epstein’s possible blackmailing of globalist elites.
Trump has repeatedly sought to dismiss the scandal, accusing Democrats of fabricating a hoax around Epstein to thwart his agenda.
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